Searching for new experiences at the bottom of every bowl and plate...

Friday, July 8, 2011

Not exactly 1000 Tastes

Coming to the downtown right after the Deli Duel I rush to the downtown core to catch the tail end of 1000 Tastes. Next time I will have this better planned as not rush everywhere. By around 4pm I got down there and Woodlot, Milagro, and Starfish was already closed up and Woodlot was at the top of my list!

So for myself it turned into something more like 10 Tastes of Toronto with what vendors that were left on the streets. Even with the remaining vendors it was still quite busy. Coming from King Street I made a left and see Dufflet's desserts. I was never the kid that wanted dessert before dinner so I casually carried on to until I see an picture of an icon standing before me.

Having never been to Lee, I figure here is a chance to try his spring rolls. This is such a novel idea of a fusion food. My mouth was confused and pleasantly surprised by the different crispy textures from the lettuce as well the crispy spring roll skin. The smoked chilli mayo heightened the meat filling taste that was lured underneath. There were some julienne veg on top and I wonder if that was the Singapore Style Slaw that is synonymous with him?

Looking down the street I saw the long lines and immediately headed the north to see the others and hopefully the lines will shrink down by the time I return. North of King Street is the 1000 dishes display where people share their memories of their events and codify them in writing.

On the north side I wanted to try Khao San Road and Luma while passing on Jedd's, Delight, and Poutini. Luma wasn't very busy but the smell of grilled sausage lured me to the Khao San Road. For what they were offering for 1 ticket it was quite the deal. The pork belly sausage with papaya salad came with a iced thai tea. The casing was crisp and not at all rubbery giving it a golden brown skin holding in the moist meatiness. There was a large presence of lemongrass eating the sausage alone. Eating it together with the light fresh salad and crisp shrimp cracker together harmonized the dish much better.

After letting that delicious taste linger in my mouth a little longer I head over to Luma for a Lobster slider. Another reason I wanted to wait was that I wanted a fresh batch before I hand over my ticket.

Just as I was about to take a big bite I see someone at the corner of my eye. Drop everything because this might not happen again! Camera at the ready I got the shot and he was more than happy to pose for the picture. He even had time for a quick question about judging another food contest at Harbourfront and he said he would consider it.

After thanking him, I had to rush back to my slider since I did see a very suspicious person eying my slider. The slider looked great against the brushed metal table in the direct sun that I had to take a couple of shots.

As you can see there is a nice big juicy piece of lobster meat there. It was definitely worth the ticket! Over the course of devouring this slider I got the taste of the lobster. The initial taste that flooded my mouth was not the lobster but the cucumber which was a bit of a shocker to me. I don't recall seeing a menu at Luma's station but I just noticed now that there are some small couscous or something else sandwiched between the lobster meat and the cuke. It was a very subtle tasting dish but I wonder if my palate has recovered after the lemongrass blowout from Khao San Road.

All hope seemed to be lost since the server behind the counter said they've (Queen Margherita Pizza) taken all the orders for the day and needed the oven to be properly cooled before closing. Dejected by this news I drag my feet to the lineup to Chippy's for some deep fried consolation. Five minutes later I see people walking away with piping hot pies in their clutches. Rushing back I talk to someone that looked like they were in charge standing by the counter. There were extra supplies they found and didn't want to carry it back to the shop. Yes! Score one for persistence and patience!

This was still a good experience even though I missed out on alot of the vendors arriving so late to the venue. I got a chance to experience some places that I would have not normally go to. After this I want to try their locations for more of what they have to offer. Next time hopefully they will be back at Queen's Park!